“Vivian, I think I'm in love; at last, after so long, I found love, just at this moment when I have so many problems.”“Angelo, I'm glad; the best time to get love is now; it will never come later; do I know the lucky one? Is it me, master?”“No, Vivian, you know that we are friends, that I am the boss and you are my assistant, that we made the mistake of being overconfident because of loneliness and desire since you are a very beautiful woman and no man would resist your charms, but what happened is that we knew each other since we were little, and we were friends first; that we let ourselves be carried away by our impulses like sheep was something very different.”“That's what you suppose, and that doesn't mean it's true; if I hadn't felt something more than friendship for you, I wouldn't have gone into the seas of your sheets; now we are here alone, me like a fool waiting for you to tear my dress, and, on the other hand, you throw me that cruelty bomb.”“I never wanted to hurt you;
The two friends were at the university, contemplating their return to class.“Ximena, look, the rector said that Professor Angelo wouldn't come to teach because he is sick; a professor is coming; I think you know her; she is the sexy wife of singer Johnny G.”“Liz, really, I need him to sign this medical release.”“Are you still sick?”“No, dear, it's to take my little sister for a check-up because of her illness, and I want to spend some time with her.”“Well, take advantage of it; I saw that she was going to the teacher's lounge; talk to her, and if she refuses, take her a wad of green money.”“Typical of you, you assume that everything can be solved with money.”“Of course not, Ximena. There are matters that can only be solved with affection, but I don't think that lady likes another woman's affection; that's why she has her beautiful husband.”“Well, I'm going to look for her, and in case she doesn't agree, I'm going to go to my little sister's place anyway.”In the teacher's loung
“Ximena, what did you do?”“Liz, what I told you, I held back.”“I thought you were going to do what we planned.”“I'm not capable of continuing with this farce, just to know his true motives.”“Ximena, we should leave the country for a while, avoiding it at all costs.”“No, Liz, that would be stupid, we can't run away forever; besides, I have business with the company and the mine, and I have something else to tell you.”“Oh, no, my friend, how can it be that you don't tell me things?”“I felt weird; I doubted about Angelo; I had a moment of weakness; before leaving, I went back to look for him; I entered the teacher's lounge, and he was with teacher Daniela; she was riding him.”“Are you sure it was Angelo?”“Yes, it must have been; I told you I had already seen something similar; although I heard that ´he didn't want to´; I don't know the reason; I didn't hear well behind the walls.”“You're not sure; I bet you didn't even see his face.”“Then I should have been like you and stayed
Ximena decided to dance, remembering the words of her friend Liz: It is true that there are so many men, for she was being surrounded by several gallants who sent her beer and invited her to their tables. She, with a smile, refused them, telling them,“I am a married woman; my husband is not late in arriving.”An evil plan came out of the heads of a group of men who were also drinking alcohol there; they wanted to take advantage of her drunkenness by taking her to the exit to rape her to exhaustion and then sell her. For sure, for sure, for that beautiful girl, the white slave traders would offer a few good dollars. Because they were eager to carry out the plan and were encouraged by Ximena's silly smile, they surrounded her and took her away, pretending to be concerned friends. Of course, they did not count on Luis' call, who wired money to the owner of the bar to protect her and who managed to alert his doormen to protect her.“Leave the lady alone, or else.”“Or else what? She is ou
Their mouths danced, they spoke in their language without words, letting out little moans, the temperature was rising, causing the clothes to get in the way; they were sheltered by the solitude and the comfort of that beautiful suite; their bodies, like opposite poles, attracted each other, Angelo got entangled removing her bra, he immediately began to unbutton her silk shirt; while Ximena contemplated that boxer's body, she wished the clothes would disappear; that he would finally make his;“To make me his,” she thought, “is not possible; this guy despised me on our honeymoon and when we were married, and he still pretends he doesn't know me. I can't go on with this; he doesn't deserve me.”She pushed him away with her firm arms, getting up to lock herself in the bathroom. Although her heart was beating like a locomotive going downhill and her body was screaming for her to go on, her reason demanded she get out of there; it was better to let her rage guide her.The bewilderment of kno
Ximena decided to go to her best friend Liz to discuss her doubts and tell her everything she remembered about those events. She even remembered dancing with many men and those who wanted to take her away; they seemed to her to have a gallant face that changed to demons with the play of the lights. She met her a few blocks before, when she was buying packages of chips from a boy with green eyes who was carrying them on a cargo tricycle, something like a bicycle truck.“Hi, Liz, I have to tell you something; I swear you'll go backwards.”“I called you a million times; I went out to look for you; only I met this handsome delivery guy who made me eat some snacks. You know, when I get worried, I get anxiety, and I only calm down with food, or you know.”“What happened?” said Ximena, observing that Liz's car seemed to have blocked the delivery man's way.“He didn't understand that I wanted to buy some packages, and I had to block his way.”“Miss, I am not allowed to sell to the public; I ca
“Hey Ximena, I don't understand how we ended up on this cruise.”“Liz, friend, what's wrong with you? Now that it seems that you are the one with no memory, do you remember how many tricks we did to avoid Angelo at the university?”“I remember when we went around the university building to avoid him, and we met him face to face.”“Yes, that was a very embarrassing situation.”“You should be used to it by now, like when we fell in the mine; that was crazy; I even ate mud, but I still haven't been able to get rid of that taste, maybe with a packet of chips from my favorite delivery boy.”“Oh, Liz, don't tell me you got the drop on the snack packet delivery boy.”“It was hard, I got annoyed; I called him to my house with the excuse of an order; I made him follow me. I put on a mini skirt, and I looked for several excuses to bend down, trying to provoke him and using other strategies, but nothing worked. But then I invited him a beer to get him uninhibited, and he downed it in one sip; I i
Angelo took them to the control center, showing them the screens of all the hidden cameras that were in every corner of the cruise ship.“Look at that man; his name is Carlos; he is with the bearded men who also wanted to buy that jewel; I didn't know it was yours; I acquired it on the black market; if you want, I'll give you back what you paid for it.”“No, relax, anyway, the auction is for charity; what offends me is this invasion of privacy; look, you even have cameras in the bathrooms; that means you are a pervert that you looked at me when I was taking a shower; you are a daring and very perverted person.”A chuckle escaped the watchmen.“What's so funny? You guys are going to get your ears pinned back for listening to the wrong thing.”“Angelo, what does it matter if you let them see other things?”“No, Ximena, all this is for security, we are under constant terrorist threats, and besides, since you arrived, we removed the cameras from your bedrooms; I would be capable of gouging
“Angelo, I will kill your children first, then your sister-in-law, then you, although I will take my time with everyone.” The old man took a rusty poker and went to the prisoners' cage. “Sir, we are informed that Alexandros took another route; it is possible that he went wrong. Or he kind of stole the money.” A henchman arrives to inform him.“That can't be possible, and if it is, we will look for his mother, and we will apply five hundred bullets to make that rat come out of his hiding place.” Giuseppe spat on the ground and almost dropped his box of teeth.“Besides, there is something very strange; the lookouts on the road report many cars in the sector. More than usual, it is possible that it is a rescue; it would be better, sir, if you were eliminated quickly, and we leave.” The assistant lowered his head as he spoke to him.“Nonsense, that doesn't mean anything. Besides, I have been waiting for this moment for years; I am going to savor it; I will be delighted; it will be a spec
“I thank you very much for this last favor.”“Do not worry and remember it very well; I can't have friendships with a snitch. Although your grandfather also helped, the old man sold the castle and the little that was left.”“Yes, José Luis, I know; he told me that he feels very guilty about everything that happened with Ximena; he knows that he will have to pay for that when he dies.”“Angelo, enough with the sermons; we must concentrate on the operation; they shouldn't have called the police; it complicates everything.”“I didn't do it, it was up to her and Detective Das; I would have preferred something from us.”“It might be better; Max's father, whose real name is Giuseppe Latin, has more money than all of us together, therefore more men and means.”“I am confident that we will succeed, as we always do.”“Of course, Angelo, we make it, or we die, either way, for the hole we drive.”“It may happen, but at least I'll take Giuseppe with me; I'll send him to meet Max.”“At least the c
Fire trucks arrive on the scene, making their way through the curious and opportunists. The police cordon off the scene and search for witnesses to the tragedy.“Detective, a wounded soldier. He says that some very suspicious subjects were going to leave a car on the front sidewalk, and that a comrade went to stop them, and the driver shot him, so they returned fire, and that caused that terrible explosion.” A policeman informed his superior.“I knew they were going to attack Ximena. And as usual, my boss didn't listen to me.”“Detective, they took a lot of precautions, and that's why they doubled the guard.” The officer left to help the firefighters remove debris.Ximena emerged from the chaos, filthy and disoriented, accompanied by escorts.“Mrs. Ximena, are you hurt?”“Detective Das, what happened? Do you know anything about Angelo?” Ximena greeted her, hugging her detective.“It seems they were planning to blow this building sky-high to silence her. As for Angelo, I assumed he was
“I need a way out; I have to go see him.” I have repeated these words many times, every day during these weeks, and I receive the same answers, although today a doctor answers me something different.“Mrs. Ximena, you know that it is something very complex because the gentleman is in another hospital since he was more injured. On the other hand, you still require special care, and although I have news for you, you are going to get out of here.” The doctor with the face of a kindly old man purses his lips to give a dramatic pause or to wait for my answer, but I just make a puzzled grimace, so he goes on, “Yes, as you can hear, we are going to get out.”“Explain me better; I notice something strange in the way you say it.” While I speak, the old man moves his mouth between fake smiles and sucker punches.“Mrs. Ximena, the judge who is handling your case demands that you be interrogated; that's what we are going to do, and it could be that your husband is also required; suddenly you will
“Where am I? Who am I?” I have asked these questions several times. Until suddenly my consciousness becomes clear, and the memories hit me all of a sudden. I look around me; it takes me a while to realize that I am in a hospital, in a first-aid room, and the smell of anesthesia raises my blood pressure. The doctors surround me with syringes, perhaps with painkillers, although they inject them in the serum, and I think I manage to ask for Angelo and my children before falling asleep.I have no hands, no feet, no face, or anything. It seems to me that I am a painting on a wall contemplating the horizon, but suddenly I am also someone who observes the painting. I detail that it is a canvas of my life and that it was painted with tears and smiles. I see it and I see me, both screens at the same time, until a blue energy shakes us and my eyes see a great light. Furthermore, as I turn my head and observe people dressed in white and blue, I hear, “We are going to intubate her.”It is a proce
“Calm down, my children; it won't be long now until we get to Bogotá.” Ximena consoled her children and herself.The long trip was coming to an end. She arrived at the central terminal; she went downstairs normally; the freezing city air calmed her; she breathed in the aroma of progress; and she prepared to leave to board the cabs. Everything seemed perfect until she saw a man who, upon seeing her, called someone on the phone.“I'm going to get caught.” These words escaped her, and she turned around, raised her children, and walked quickly. But, rather than running to avoid suspicion, she turned her head to see that the man was following her, accompanied by two others dressed in black. She calculated that her best strategy was to return to the fleet under the pretext that she had forgotten her luggage, so she could go back to the unloading area. But instead of looking for a non-existent suitcase, she marched quickly towards the exit of the buses, crossed the avenue, walked a few meter
“How is it that such a pretty young lady with such a pair of little angels walks around this region so full of dangers?”“I was visiting my grandfather; he lives in the mountains.”“It's good to go back to the country, to know the roots; besides, as an old man, you don't know when you will see your loved one for the last time; tell me, I haven't seen my daughter for a long time.”“And that, is it, that you are angry?”“No, miss, it's just that some criminals killed her. And she had two granddaughters who were taken by an uncle who refused to allow me to see them. It was very difficult; that's why I went to the country with my wife until she died. Now all I have left are memories of my life—of what I did, what I didn't do, and what could have been. Although the truth is that I'm not from around here, I'm retracing my steps. I know that the bone is breathing down my neck; although I'm still afraid of the uncertainty of the afterlife, I also long for it because this body no longer respon
“We are going to finish off even the sow's nest.” Angelo closed his black jacket, lowered his balaclava cap to cover his face, and jumped from the helicopter held by a rope. When he touched the ground, he landed with both legs, running straight ahead with the gun. He imagined he was diving from a very high pool; he didn't even turn to see if his men were following him. He neutralized a couple of guards and, little by little, his adrenaline went down as his sadness increased.“Sir, we went all over the place, and there is no trace of a woman and two children.” The mercenary Can-Can informed him, turning his head and looking for any threat.“It can't be possible; this is the place.” Angelo kicked a table to calm his mixed feelings.“My lord is not wrong; look here; we found this dog in a hiding place.” Jose Luis came in and pushed Diego to the floor.“Damn rat! What did you do with my wife and children?” Angelo lifted Diego by the neck while he was shaking. It was hard to understand wha
“Okay, Angelo, I'll tell you.” Emily cleared her throat, her voice almost unable to come out because those strong hands were choking her. “I made a mistake in proposing that question to you.”“Please forgive me; I didn't want to go to these extremes; it's just that I'm very worried.” Angelo whispered, letting go of her neck, “I know she's in danger; besides, I'm having the same symptoms as when she was pregnant with my twins; I hope it's just my psychosis.”“Angelo, I understand you. Hold on; I'll calm down, or I'll end up in an ambulance.” Emily exhaled, speaking fast, took a deep breath, mentally repeating the mantras that helped her calm down, and continued, “Please don't tell her that I was the gossip rat.”“You can tell her that I made you; although you will have to come with me, we must plan a way to rescue her.” Angelo picked up the hamburger again to eat it.“I remember when Ximena found me after we were separated because we were adopted by different families. She took me to e